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Ohio's Law Changes Will Affect Med Board Licensees

Ohio’s biennium budget (House Bill 166) contains many policy changes in addition to financial appropriations. A number of those statutory changes will impact State Medical Board of Ohio licensees.

The following is a summary of changes in Ohio law that will become effective October 17, 2019. Licensees are encouraged to read the complete law in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). Information on laws and rules for licensees is also available in the LAWS & RULES section.

All license types

• Eliminates a requirement under which an affirmative vote of at least six members of the board is necessary to grant a license to an applicant. This change will allow the Medical Board to issue licenses faster, instead of waiting for monthly board meetings.

• Licenses will expire two years after the original date of issuance. For existing license holders, the renewal deadline will continue to be on the same date as it is currently; for new license holders this means renewal will occur on the two-year anniversary of initial issuance and every two years thereafter.

• The board can now impose terms and conditions to ensure an applicant’s fitness to practice, as follows: (1) when seeking issuance of a license without having been engaged in practice or participating in a training or educational program for more than two years, and (2) when seeking restoration of a license that has been inactive for more than two years.

• Clarifies an eligibility requirement that applies to a person seeking licensure to practice a limited branch of medicine based on holding a license in another state, by specifying that the applicant must have held a license to practice massage therapy or cosmetic therapy during the five-year period preceding the date of application.

• Authorizes the board to impose a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 if the license holder fails to complete the continuing education required to maintain a license.

• Ohio MDs, DOs, and DPMs will need to complete a total of 50 hours Category 1 CME every two years to be eligible for license renewal. Previously, physicians were required to complete a total of 100 hours, of which 40 needed to be Category 1.

• The amount of continuing education hours a physician may earn providing health care services as a volunteer will be reduced to three hours.

• Expedited licensure: Clarifies an eligibility requirement that applies to a physician seeking an expedited license by endorsement by specifying that the applicant must not have been the subject of more than two malpractice claims resulting in a finding of liability in the ten years preceding the date of application.

• Training certificates: Allows a holder of a physician training certificate to apply for late renewal not more than 30 days after the certificate’s expiration date if the individual pays a $150 reinstatement fee.

• Clinical fellowship programs: Specifies that an accredited clinical fellowship program constitutes (1) graduate medical education recognized by the board and (2) a program that an individual may participate in by obtaining a training certificate.

• Clinical research faculty: Specifies that holders of clinical research faculty certificates will need to complete 75 hours Category 1 CME every three years to renew their certificates.

• Telemedicine certificates: Specifies telemedicine certificates will be converted to standard MD or DO licenses. Ohio’s law regarding telemedicine certificates will be repealed, eliminating the need for a separate certificate. All active telemedicine certificate holders, upon conversion to holders of a full MD or DO license, will be required to meet Ohio’s continuing education requirements in order to renew their license (50 hours of Category 1 CME every two years). Physicians wishing to provide health care via telemedicine to individuals located in Ohio may do so under their full Ohio license.

• The physician assistant continuing education (CE) requirements for Ohio will mirror the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) requirements. Previously, a physician assistant needed to complete a minimum of 100 hours of continuing education every two years, which did not align with the NCCPA certification cycle. Physician assistants who hold prescriptive authority will continue to be required to complete at least twelve hours of continuing education in pharmacology.

• Changes in the law will now require both the supervising physician and the physician assistant to retain a copy of their supervision agreement in their records. The law also permits the board to assess a civil penalty upon a finding that a supervision agreement has not been retained as required.

• PA initial application fee reduced from $500 to $400.

• Limits a physician assistant’s existing authority to personally furnish samples of drugs and therapeutic devices to the drugs and devices included in the physician assistant’s physician-delegated prescriptive authority.

• Requires that medical care provided by an out-of-state physician assistant at a charitable event in Ohio be supervised by the event’s medical director or another physician authorized to practice in Ohio.